It was a Power Point slide of Ettore Sottsass in a bowling shirt that first made Jim Hackett, CEO of Steelcase, want to get to know David Kelley.

Fifteen years ago, Hackett remembers, the Ideo founder had been summoned to Steelcase’s Grand Rapids boardroom to talk to the company’s executives about why the office furniture giant should be more design-driven. In prior weeks, other designers had trooped through with predictable presentations about metrics and ROI.

It was a Power Point slide of Ettore Sottsass in a bowling shirt that first made Jim Hackett, CEO of Steelcase, want to get to know David Kelley.

Fifteen years ago, Hackett remembers, the Ideo founder had been summoned to Steelcase’s Grand Rapids boardroom to talk to the company’s executives about why the office furniture giant should be more design-driven. In prior weeks, other designers had trooped through with predictable presentations about metrics and ROI.